See for yourself: Hy-Vee Arena getting floors, retail spaces with weeks until opening

With just weeks to go until the new Hy-Vee Arena hosts its first pickleball tournament, lacquer is drying on the floor of the second-floor basketball and volleyball courts.

There’s still plenty left to do before the West Bottoms’ historic Kemper Arena reopens as Hy-Vee Arena, but vendors have signed on to lease most of the commercial space in the building. And construction crews have begun installing flooring on top of the bare cement in the concourses. The lower-level courts on the original floor of the arena aren’t as far along as the gleaming wood on the newly installed second level.

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The arena will host its first pickleball tournament starting Sept. 21, and it will open to the public Oct. 5 with a happy hour. Beth Omecene Epperson, marketing manager, said the arena staff was trying to get the event certified as the world’s largest happy hour.

So I guess this type of reuse is catching on. I got pulled into helping with a project at the Hazelwood Mall in St. Louis where the entire mall is being transformed into mainly Volleyball and pickleball courts, with softball and soccer outside or under a sports dome. There will also be a sports bar, clinic, and retail areas.